Mom the Helper

I would not have been able to do this experiment without the help of my mom. While I was in Miami, she got a bunch of seeds ready for me in her green house, and even planted some of the frost resistant plants in the garden.

Reacclimation

I've been back to Deckerville, Michigan for a few days now, and I'm starting to settle into my decision to leave my librarian job in Miami for a summer of working with my hands in The Thumb. This had always been my plan. I was going to attend the University of South Florida, getting my Master's Degree, while working as a librarian in Miami. I never really wavered from the plan, but I was suffering from some anxiety when it came down to crunch time. In making the decision, I was making an important investment in my future based on my socio-economic world view, and the prognostications that stem from it. I believe we are on an unsustainable path in this country, and our castle of wealth is really a house of cards. A consumer based economy, entitlement culture, personal and public debt, and a potential energy crisis are converging to make the continuation of the status quo to be unlikely. I don't know what's going to happen. I don't know what the fallout will look like, but I do think it's important to develop some skills that will allow me to survive in a failed state. These skills include anything that will allow me to produce and manage tangible products, because the days of us selling each other goods, made in China will be over.

My delusions don't extend far enough to lead me to believe, I'll be able to support myself with a backyard garden in The Long Emergency America. Nevertheless, the mental preparation, and hands on experience will put me ahead of the game in a nation of sleepwalking consumers. I don't know whats going to happen, and I don't know where this little living experiment will lead me, but the mystery and the challenge are what makes it worthwhile.